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Update on Bento

By Cindy Downeson Tue, 07/07/2009

After using Bento for a few more weeks, I am really sold on it! It’s the best database I’ve found that works with an iPhone app and I’ve tried them all. The Bento app is simple, but it serves its purpose. The real workhorse is the desktop application.

I discovered a library database template for Bento that I’m using to keep track of my books. So far, I’ve input over 900 books. What I like about this system is that I can input the books on my laptop; then sync them over to my iPhone app. I can then photograph the books with my iPhone, save the photos to my Bento app, and then sync the database back to the desktop with photos included. EASY!

What really sells me on the Bento system? I won’t lose my data. With the other apps, I’ve lost my data several times. Not fun! But, with the Bento, not only does it sync between the iPhone and my laptop, but I can also save a copy of my database to disk. This makes me very happy after all the work of putting the information in!

Now, when I’m away from my desktop, I can refer to my Bento app to access my database. I can add books through the app, sort, and do a find by any field in your database. Because I use the notes feature of the book database to input keywords for each book, I can also find books on a subject I need.

There are tons of templates available on Bento Template Exchange - everything from business, cooking, education and event planning to health, home, hobbies and time management. Check it out. You’re sure to find something that will work with your needs. Being a Filemaker product, this Bento system will only get better! It’s well worth the $49 for the software and $4.99 for the app.

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